Only crank it clockwise!
look down the front guide see if it’s intact.
pull the front cover . Look for black plastic bits

 

Thanks for the heads up advice ! Probably be this weekend before I can get back to it.

 

OB you are spot on. I got the cover off and the black guide pieces fell out.

 

I’m gifted that way! Lol. Don’t waste money installing another black one , get the much stronger green one from ZZP. How’s the cam and crank marks line up?

 

With the crank at 12 the exhaust is about 10, the intake about 12:30-1

 

The crank keyway at 12:00. The crank mark on the chain(and sprocket) should be about 4:30. But the intake mark at 12:30-1 is no Bueno, should be at 2:00.

 

Listen to Old Blue about the ZZP chain guide. (PSA, if your black one was installed with the alternative bolt, it is possible to retrofit the ZZP guide without removing the chain or any other guides. It is however necessary to remove the cover. Ask me how I know.)

Also consider buying GM tensioners. Both timing and balance chain. Generics are iffy, and if they malfunction, a cascade of failures ensues.

 

Read this , memorize it! Especially the part about timing marks and lining up the camshafts during reassembly

https://www.ddmworks.com/assets/imag...uild%20Kit.pdf

 

Thank you! A lot of good info there. I ordered a bunch of parts from Rockauto and ZZP. Hopefully in a week or so I can start.

 

You have research reading, while you wait